Like many in America’s ever-aging population, 70-year-old Diana Clark, in late 2017, started suffering from dizzy spells that kept her from getting around as comfortably as she liked. When she would lie down at night, the spells got so bad it would make her nauseous and “give her a stomachache,” she said.

The spells struck when she was driving, making her reluctant to get on the road to go about her daily business. At one point, she didn’t know if she could make the short walk into her doctor’s office. Her ear, nose and throat specialist sent her to Las Cruces’ Southwest Sport and Spine Center, where physical therapists at the Fyzical Therapy and Balance Center assisted her with balance, breathing and exercises that made it possible for her to regain an active lifestyle. With the help of physical therapist Chester Brown and PT assistant Lynn Roberts, Clark was back on her feet.

“I’m not having dizzy spells at night after Chester taught me how to breathe,” Clark said. “I thought I knew how to breathe and I don’t. So, Chester worked with me on that and Lynn works a lot with me on balancing and that helps a lot. Now I don’t have the dizzy spells.”

Lynne Roberts, left, helps Diana Clark, right, with the assistance of the Bertec system at ...more

Lynne Roberts, left, helps Diana Clark, right, with the assistance of the Bertec system at Southwest Sport and Spine Center during a therapy session. The Bertec system tells the therapist and patient what positions and problem areas could use work.

Josh Bachman/Sun-News

Clark is far from alone. Balance problems among older adults lead not only to injuries from falls, but to a diminished quality of life, keeping them from taking part in normal activities like dancing, shopping or going out on the town. While walking across a flat parking lot may seem like a walk in the park to average adults, for those with balance problems, it can be like crossing a minefield, riddled with hazards that can easily turn them tail-over-teakettle and land them in emergency rooms.

“It’s one of the most important public health imperatives facing older adults,” said Bob Wood, a professor in New Mexico State University’s Department of Kinesiology and Dance. “It’s the leading cause of injurious death for seniors and it’s the fifth leading cause of death overall for seniors. I think, beyond that, the nonfatal falls have a huge impact on quality of life and independence for older adults.”

Wood, who has been studying falls for more than 17 years, said fall risk typically goes up around age 65, but increases precipitously at about age 85, with even apparently healthy people over that age likely to fall each year.

“As far as long-term studies, we haven’t been able to quantify what it means in terms of quality life years added,” Wood said. “But falls are one of the events that precipitates loss of independence. Some is physical but some is psychological and emotional.

“When an older adult falls, it’s a stressful event,” Wood continued. “It’s embarrassing. A lot of times they don’t want to admit they’ve fallen because they are afraid somebody will take away the car keys. The longer we can keep people strong and functional and reduce injuries related to falls, there’s a huge public health benefit to the seniors in our society.”

Letticia Martinez, center, works on her balance with the help of David Gallegos, an athletic ...more

Letticia Martinez, center, works on her balance with the help of David Gallegos, an athletic trainer at Southwest Sport and Spine Center, during a therapy session.

Josh Bachman/Sun-News

“Probably the ones people can modify the best are strength, balance, making sure they get annual optometry visits, making sure they report any adverse responses they are having to medications, like dizziness, and keeping their home safe,” Wood said.

The NMSU Department of Kinesiology and Dance offers screenings and will refer patients to appropriate medical providers if needed. The department also provides a Tai Chi class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the Frank O’Brien Papen Community Center, 304 Bell Ave.

“Controlled studies reveal Tai Chi reduces falls by 50 percent,” Wood said. “It’s a great activity for seniors. It’s not too vigorous, doesn’t’ cause joint pain, doesn’t take equipment. We adapt and modify for people if they have limitations.”

The university hopes to track participants in the balance screenings to keep an eye on progress and to better understand the impact falls and lack of balance have on seniors.

As for the cost of falls to the patient and family, it’s quite high, Wood said. Hospitalization attributed to a fall averages $30,000 and often family members have to take time away from work to help their loved one recuperate, Wood said.

It’s not just older people who are at risk. People with an underlying disease or condition can be at risk for falls as well. Often the consequences are not as great because bones and muscles are stronger in younger people but balance comes into play in preventing sports injuries and other types of falls.

“We’re now beginning to see literature about how important it is in your younger years, 30s, 40s, 50s, to develop good behavior,” Wood said. “You don’t want to wait until you’ve fallen and had injuries to start exercising. Balance and coordination in younger years all sort of point to the same thing — the sooner we can adopt these healthy behaviors the greater the likelihood we’ll have an optimal, functional life span.”

Getting Fyzical

The Fyzical Therapy and Balance Center recently opened at Southwest Sport and Spine Center’s Mall Drive location and uses Bertec, a computerized system that helps the patient learn how to control their body’s movements, said physical therapist Denise Campbell. Doctors have begun referring patients to Sport and Spine specifically for the diagnosis and focused treatment the system can offer. Campbell said the system is already showing positive results. It allows the therapists to pinpoint the cause of balance loss.

Mark Tovar, a physical therapy technician demonstrates the Bertec System at Southwest Sport and ...more

Mark Tovar, a physical therapy technician demonstrates the Bertec System at Southwest Sport and Spine Center. The Bertec system helps diagnose problems in how a person stands and how it can affect their stability and recovery from balance issues.

Josh Bachman/Sun-News

Balance loss can be attributed to a problem in one or more of the body’s three balance systems — the visual system (sight), the vestibular system (inner ear), or the somatosensory system (the nerves between your ankle and neck that tell your brain where your body parts are and how they are moving and interacting with your surroundings), Brown said.

Diagnostic tests are conducted to determine the cause of the problem and range from the common, “watch my finger, don’t move your head” tests to goggles with infrared cameras that can track eye movement and help pinpoint a cause, Brown said. The tests, as well as physical therapy, benefit from a track suspension system that secures and supports the patient in a harness.

“The nice thing about the harness is we don’t have to be concerned if the person is going to fall,” Brown said. “Then they become confident … and it speed up the process.”

Another screening tool used at Southwest Sport and Spine Center is the BodyQ, a roughly 45-minute screening that tells patients how they compare to an average person their age, as well as those a decade older and younger.

“Everybody wants to, at least, be close to (where they should be for their age),” Campbell said. “We have ways to help people be sensitized to these things before something happens and whether they can then go to the gym, start to work on things for six weeks and retest.”

Mike Rawlings, left, a physical therapist at Southwest Sport and Spine Center, demonstrates the infrared video oculography system on Montana Bencomo, an athletic trainer at the center. The system helps physical therapists determine balance issues in patients.

Josh Bachman/Sun-News

Campbell said the pinpoint diagnostics and advanced therapeutic techniques are the most advance in the region and “there is nothing like it from Dallas to Denver.”

The equipment is also used to create a “baseline” analysis of a person’s physical health, strength and coordination and can be used to help athletes avoid and recover from injuries. It includes a set of checkpoints that, when an athlete is evaluated post-injury, determine when they are ready to return to activity or competition.

For seniors seeking a better quality of life and for athletes of all ages, starting to work on balance and strength is better done sooner rather than later.

“Suddenly you start to put your pants on in the morning, let’s get real practical, and you had to start leaning against the wall instead of just pulling your pants on,” Campbell said. “We know around 60 it starts to decline if you don’t work on it.

“We’ve seen people go from ‘I’m afraid to walk out here’ and coming in with a cane, and now they are able to go over rocks, step over curbs and it just opens their life up,” Campbell added. “It restores their life (and comfort level) about what they can do and where they can go.”

For information on screenings and Tai Chi classes offered through the NMSU Department of Kinesiology and Dance, email Woods at bobwood@nmsu.edu. For information about Southwest Sport and Spine Center, visit swsportandspine.com.